One in Ten in School: an Overview of Access to Education for Syrian Refugee Children and Youth in the Urban Areas of the Kurdistan Region of Iraq (KR-I)
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One in ten in school: An overview of access to education for Syrian refugee children and youth in the urban areas of the Kurdistan Region of Iraq (KR-I) Version: 24 July 2013 Report prepared by NRC Iraq Table of contents Table of contents .................................................................................................................................. 2 Acknowledgements .............................................................................................................................. 3 List of tables ......................................................................................................................................... 4 List of graphs ........................................................................................................................................ 4 1 Executive summary ........................................................................................................................ 5 2 Background ..................................................................................................................................... 8 3 Methodology .................................................................................................................................. 9 4 Findings: household level ............................................................................................................. 12 5 Findings: individual level .............................................................................................................. 15 6 Findings: school level .................................................................................................................... 19 7 Recommendations ....................................................................................................................... 22 8 Annex: focus group report compiled by UNICEF .......................................................................... 23 9 Annex: modified UNICEF school checklist .................................................................................... 27 Page 2 of 28 Acknowledgements This assessment would not have been possible without the support of the following education stakeholders in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq (KR-I): • Ministry of Education, Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) • The United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) • United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) • Harikar NGO • Agency for Technical Cooperation and Development (ACTED) • Participants of the Duhok Education Sector Working Group • The Teachers and Principles of the schools surveyed in Duhok and Erbil • The Syrian refugee households that generously gave their time to support this assessment. Page 3 of 28 List of tables Table 1: selection of baseline data from survey ................................................................................... 7 Table 2: nomenclature for grades and ages ......................................................................................... 8 Table 3: survey sample sizes ............................................................................................................... 10 Table 4: neighbourhoods with highest number of refugee households (at least one child/youth) ... 13 Table 5: villages/towns with highest number of refugee households (at least one child/youth) ...... 14 Table 6: proportion of children/youth in school by governorate ....................................................... 16 Table 7: selection of data collected from schools in Duhok governorate .......................................... 20 Table 8: selection of data collected from schools in Erbil governorate ............................................. 21 List of graphs Graph 1: age breakdown for data collected from school-aged children/youth ................................. 10 Graph 2: date of arrival in KR-I ........................................................................................................... 12 Graph 3: living situation for refugee households with at least one child/youth ................................ 12 Graph 4: relative location of refugee households with at least one child/youth in KR-I ................... 13 Graph 5: % of children/youth in non-camp settings attending school ............................................... 15 Graph 6: % of children/youth in non-camp settings that were attending school in Syria .................. 15 Graph 7: overall results for reason child/youth not attending school ............................................... 17 Graph 8: breakdown of grades for refugee children/youth in non-camp settings attending school . 17 Graph 9: last grade in Syria for children/youth in non-camp settings not attending school in KR-I .. 18 Graph 10: where children/youth living in non-camp settings attend school (Duhok) ....................... 19 Page 4 of 28 1 Executive summary Given the limited availability of information pertaining to the education needs of Syrian refugee children and youth in the non-camp settings1 of the Kurdistan Region of Iraq (KR-I), the emphasis for this assessment was to provide an overview of the situation, rather than an in-depth analysis. This assessment is a snapshot; further monitoring will be required as the refugee population increases, as is expected in the coming months, and as refugees move between the three governorates of Duhok, Erbil, and Suleimaniyah, given changing livelihood opportunities and coping mechanisms. The findings of this assessment should prove useful to local authorities, UN agencies, and NGOs in the planning of educational activities in urban areas. Further studies should be conducted to better understand specific issues or challenges faced by the Syrian refugee children and youth in the different non-camp settings of the KR-I. The assessment findings indicate that access to education for the Syrian refugee children and youth in urban, peri-urban and rural areas is inadequate. Roughly 90% of school-aged refugee children and youth in non-camp settings are not participating in formal education. Of those, 76% were attending school in Syria. This gap mainly represents a reduction in the numbers of school-aged children attending primary education. According to this assessment, youth (aged 15 to 24) were largely not engaged in formal education in Syria; however, there is a need to better understand the expectations and aspirations of refugee youth in order to better tailor programs to their needs and interests. Vocational training initiatives will be a key activity for supporting refugee youth in non- camp settings. Economic considerations, including transport costs and the cost of learning materials, are cited as one of the main barriers to education. As refugee numbers increase economic opportunities are becoming more limited and refugee households are less able to bear the costs associated with sending their children to school. Getting children and youth back to school will require support for transport, learning materials and other education costs, as well as greater livelihood opportunities to increase the overall income of Syrian refugee households. Language is another major barrier to education. The Syrian curriculum is taught in Arabic, and not the Kurdish languages spoken in KR-I2. In Duhok governorate, for example, about 1% of schools teach their lessons in Arabic, with the rest are conducted in Kurmanji (Kurdish). The vast majority of Syrian refugee children/youth in Duhok governorate attend school in Domiz camp, where Arabic is spoken and class registration is reportedly easier. Focus group participants commented on the challenges their children faced in the schools outside of the camp, such as: adjusting to new accents, different levels of schoolwork, and that the certification will not be recognised upon return to Syria. To the greatest extent possible, Syrian refugees should have access to the standard Syrian curriculum, and classes taught in Arabic. “We currently have no lives here. We live day by day and can’t make decisions. We need a solution to our lives in Iraq.” 1 For the purpose of this report, non-camp settings refer to urban, peri-urban, and rural areas. 2 Kurmanji is the Kurdish spoken in Duhok. Surani Kurdish is spoken in Erbil and Suleimaniyah Page 5 of 28 Recommendations for local authorities: • Increase the capacity to deliver basic/primary schools education in Arabic. • Increase the capacity for student placement evaluations in non-camp settings. • Schedule catch up classes over the summer break in refugee neighbourhoods so that Syrian children and youth are better prepared for the start of school in September 2013. • Raise awareness amongst refugee households as to the availability of schools in their neighbourhood, and the registration procedures. • Ministry of Education to undertake an assessment with school Head Masters to better understand the barriers to education for refugee children and youth, from their perspective. • Collaborate with international organisations to facilitate school refurbishment activities (where necessary), school awareness campaigns, etc. Recommendations for UN Agencies and NGOs involved in education activities: • Work with local authorities to educate teachers regarding the specific learning, psychosocial and emotional needs of refugee children and youth. • Support local authorities by building temporary learning spaces, and supporting the development of additional teacher capacity in order to accommodate all refugee children and youth in local schools. • Work with